*this was written watching passengers "going" while I was "waiting" for a flight in the Charlotte, NC airport.*
Everyone is going somewhere. We all have schedules and destinations. We all have goals and timetables to reach them. It seems we all want to be somewhere that we aren't. There are two states of being throughout each of our lives. The first state is known as "going". Boy, we love to "go".
Sometimes we "go" quickly. We run towards our goals. We strive for our dreams. We don't want to miss the deadlines that we have set to reach them.... I have to be ahead of everyone else. I have to be on top. I must do the most. I must be the best. I must go as fast as possible.....We go so fast that everything around us is a blur. In order to achieve life, we end up missing it.
Sometimes we "go" slowly. We go real slow. We go slow enough so that we can say that we are still moving in a forward direction but going at a pace that will never get us there. We go slow when we have to face fear. We go slow when we are afraid of what's in front of us....What if I don't know what I'm doing? What if I don't make it. What if they laugh at me? What if I fail? In an effort to avoid the pain that comes with failure we go slow so we don't even have to try.
But there are times in life where we aren't "going". There are times when we really have to sit and wait. That's the second state of life. Waiting. As humans, we don't like to wait. It goes against our natural tendency to go. We don't like to wait because in order to wait you have give up control. That's one of the foundational truths of waiting. You must sit and wait on circumstances that are influenced by someone or something else. When we wait, we aren't in control.... When will my flight finally leave? When will I get that promotion? When will I finally meet that special someone? When will I have answers?....Sometimes we find ourselves waiting on God. We sit. We wait.
The truth of the matter is that whether waiting or going, we prefer not to do it alone. We are made for relationships. We walk hand in hand with a loved one. We laugh with close friends. Being in relationship makes "going" more enjoyable. There is someone to talk to. There is someone to share life with. In the same way, waiting is far easier when you are waiting with someone. There is someone to share our frustrations. There is someone to keep us company as we wait. There is someone to help keep us engaged in life as we wait. We are meant to be in relationships with others.
There is beauty in following God. That beauty when you are following God, going and waiting become easier in certain ways. We get to accompany our Creator in the story that He has for us....God where should I go next? God what is my next job going to be?...God thank you for your guidance. God thank you for walking me through that terrible time... Going is far easier when you have someone to go with you. It's even easier when that person is God.
There is nothing as tough as waiting through a bad situation. Having a relationship with God gives strength to the weakest of people who wait in Him...God will I ever get a job? Will she ever be healed? Will I ever find love? Will I ever feel complete?....God give us a peace that defies understanding. God's peace doesn't make sense to the world. That's why a relationship with God is key. When "waiting" in life, there is no one I would rather have by my side than the God who spoke the universe into existence. He is the God that provides even when we feel He isn't there.
There is truly nothing like a relationship with God.
